Current
Daniel Harris
Daniel graduated from the University of Essex, East Anglia in 2025 with a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry. Once completed, he undertook a summer placement in the Forgan group at the University of Glasgow. Here, Daniel’s role was to investigate the immune response of dendritic cell as a direct result of metal organic frameworks (MOF) exposure. Additionally, the placement also involved MOF surface modification with a view of increasing the dendritic cells uptake of MOFs. Shortly after his placement, Daniel began his PhD at the University of Glasgow within the Adam’s group, commencing in October 2025. Daniel’s research project involves designing α-helical peptides utilising AI models such as AlphaFold, with a focus on self-assembly and catalytic properties.
Olivia Hanlon
Olivia graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2022 with a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry. During her undergraduate degree, Olivia joined the Draper group where she worked on improving the flexibility and conductivity of perylene bisimide thin films. After graduating, Olivia worked in the virology department of Merck where she focused on retrovirus and lentivirus detection within cells. Olivia then returned to the university of Glasgow, completing an MSci in Advanced Functional Materials, splitting her time between the School of Chemistry and the School of Physics and Astronomy. As part of Olivia’s masters project, she returned to the Draper group working on the role perylene bisimides can play in colour changing fabrics. In 2024, Olivia joined the Adams group. Partnering with Sonichem and Scottish Forestry, her project focuses on utilising biomass for the production of sustainable chemicals.
Hongbo Jiang
Hongbo graduated from Zhejiang University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Engineering. During his undergraduate studies, he immersed himself in the exploration of Microfluidics for Bio-ink Output with Arbitrary Concentration under the guidance of Prof. Liang MA. Subsequently, Hongbo embarked on his master’s journey at Zhejiang University, delving into Piezoelectric Applications of Short Peptide Self-assemblies and natural proteins under the supervision of Prof. Kai TAO. Following the completion of his Master of Engineering degree, Hongbo commenced his doctoral studies at the University of Glasgow in October 2024 as a member of the Adams group. His current research endeavors are centered on developing methodologies to manipulate supermolecular structures’ orientation to enhance Piezoelectric responses significantly.
Helen Futty
Helen graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2024 with an MSci in Chemistry and Mathematics. In her fourth year, she completed a Mathematics project on polynomial rings. She joined the Adams group in 2023 for her final year master’s project and studied the conductivity of hydrogel noodles. Helen began working towards her PhD in 2024 and is focusing on the self-assembly of two component peptide systems based on AI predictions by platforms such as AlphaFold
Tejaswini Maurya
Tejaswini graduated with a first-class BSc(Hons) in Chemistry from Delhi University, India. During her undergraduate studies, she worked on projects including the preparation of biodiesel from vegetable oil using the process of saponification and the synthesis of gold nanoparticles using tea leaf extract by applying principles of Green Chemistry. These projects were supervised by Dr. Shuchi Dhingra at the University of Delhi, India. She then graduated with an MSc in Chemistry from the University of Glasgow in 2022. For Tejaswini’s MSc thesis, she worked with the Adams group on “ The Formulation of a Dipeptide-based hydrogel by integrating azobenzene as a fluorescent compound,” which exhibited changes in mechanical and physical properties upon exposure to a UV-Vis lamp. Tejaswini’s research now focuses on how the stereochemistry of phenylalanine residues in 2NapFF can significantly influence its physical and chemical properties.
Fin Hallam Stewart 
Fin graduated with an MSci in Chemistry with European Placement from the University of Glasgow in 2023. In his placement year, Fin worked on the synthesis of a Covalent Organic Framework (COF) to be used as a cathode material within Lithium-ion batteries, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Oliver Dumele at Humboldt Universität in Berlin, Germany. This research project was funded by Erasmus+. Upon his return to Glasgow in September 2022, Fin worked on his MSci thesis with the Adams group, titled Inducing Alignment of Micellar Structures in Transient Hydrogel Systems. Fin remained within the Adams group and started working towards his PhD in October 2023 on antimicrobial hydrogels for the application of medical implant coatings. Fin is funded by Tenovus Scotland.
Rui Huang 
Rui graduated from Minjig University in 2021 and received a Bachelor of Science degree with the first grade in the specialty. During his undergraduate studies, Rui devoted himself to the development of A Quick and Simple Method for Extracting UnsaponifiableVegetable Oils.Rui joined the Adams group in October 2021, Rui worked with the Adams group for his MSci in science, titled Charge Screening Wormlike Micelles Affects Extensional Relaxation Time and Noodle Formation. In 2022, Rui started a PhD within the Adams group at the University of Glasgow. His research focusing on using photoresponsive gelators for energy storage, and designing and controlling the self-assembled structures formed by a range of functionalised dipeptides in the micellar and gel states and examining what happens when these are irradiated with light.
Emma Bowley
Emma graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2022 with a MSci in natural sciences specializing in chemistry and maths. Her masters project was the synthesis of 1,2,4,5-tetrazine derivatives and their potential in metal coordination polymers under the supervision of Dr Ben Pilgrim. Emma joined the group in October 2022 and is working on transient gels and electropolymerisation. Emma is funded by the University of Glasgow.
Past
Simona Bianco
Simona graduated with a first class MSci in Chemistry with European Placement from the University of Glasgow in 2021. In her penultimate year, she undertook an Erasmus+ Traineeship in the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group (ICC) at Utrecht University (The Netherlands). Her project focused on developing a method to grow HKUST-1 SURMOFs on the surface of gold nanoparticles for sensing applications using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. For her master’s project, she worked on assessing the performance of discretisation algorithms commonly used for single-molecule FRET analysis on branched DNA structures, under the supervision of Dr. Steven Magennis. Simona joined the Adams group in October 2021, where she is working on preparing and characterising transient supramolecular gels with properties that evolve with time. Simona is funded by the University of Glasgow.
Qingwen Guan
Qingwen Guan achieved her M.S. degree from China University of Petroleum (Beijing) in 2020. During this period, she won the first-class academic scholarship for three consecutive years and the National Scholarship for Graduate Students in 2019. As a researcher, she participated in the Beijing Science and Technology Nova Program-interdisciplinary Project and the China University of Petroleum (Beijing) Foundation-Outstanding Young Scholars Project. She also actively participated in various large-scale competitions, including Outstanding Entrepreneurship Team of College Students-Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, the 10th “Challenge Cup” Capital University Students Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition, and the 5th “Internet+” College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (Beijing), which won the first, second and second prizes respectively. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. degree under the supervision of Prof. Dave J. Adams and is mainly focused on designing and developing low molecular weight gelators and hydrogel to achieve excellent multi-functional applications. Qingwen Guan is sponsored by the University of Glasgow and China Scholarship Council for the Joint Scholarship.
Max Hill
Max graduated from the University of York in 2019, with an MChem degree in Chemistry with Biological and Medicinal Chemistry. Here, he completed a final year research project under Professor David K. Smith, investigating enzyme-loaded supramolecular-chemical hybrid hydrogels for use as bioreactors. After graduating, he worked as a full time Graduate Teaching Assistant at York and then in the Nurofen R & D team at Reckitt Benckiser. In 2020, Max started a PhD within the Adams group at the University of Glasgow. His research includes the 3D printing of supramolecular gels formed from dipeptide based low-molecular weight gelators and how these materials behave at different scales. Max is funded by the University of Glasgow.
Chloe Wallace
Chloe Wallace graduated with a first class BSc(Hons) in Medicinal Chemistry from Queen’s University, Belfast in 2018. After that, she completed a summer internship at the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research with Dr Richard Williams where she focussed on Developing novel pfM17 Leucine aminopeptidase inhibitors. Then in 2019 she graduated from a Msc(Res) in Oncology Drug Discovery, also at Queen’s University Belfast with distinction. Her project was based in Almac Discovery where she worked on developing a covalent fragment platform. Chloe joined the Adams’ group in 2020 when she was accepted into the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Engineered Tissues for Discovery, Industry and Medicine (LifETIME) at University of Glasgow. Her project is focused on developing new supramolecular hydrogels for encapsulation and biomedical applications.
Maria Laura Vieri
Maria Laura first graduated with a BSc in Biotechnology from the University of Florence in 2013. For her undergraduate thesis project she worked on the development of Metal PDB, a database of metal sites in biological macromolecular structures, under the supervision of Prof. Rosato. In October 2016 she started an MSc in Molecular Biotechnology, a joint degree from the University of Pisa and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, where she graduated with a 1st class MSc (Hons) in 2019. In her last year she worked on biosensing platforms in Prof. Marco Cecchini’s “NeuroSens” group at the Scuola Normale Superiore’s NEST Laboratory. For her masters thesis project she worked on the development of biomolecular detection systems for the identification of GFAP and mir21 in biological fluids using a QCM-D platform. In October 2019 Maria Laura entered the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Engineered Tissues for Discovery, Industry and Medicine (LifETIME) at University of Glasgow, under the supervision of Prof. Carl Goodyear, Prof. Dave Adams and Prof. Matthew J. Dalby. Her PhD project is focused on the development of a hydrogel-based 3D osteochondral model for the study of osteoarthritis-related pathways.
Ian Bennett-Wright (joint with the Mount Group, University of Edinburgh)
Ian graduated with a MChem in Chemistry with Nanotechnology from Heriot-Watt University in 2018. His undergraduate research project focussed on the synthesis of low-molecular weight gelators, the rheological study of their associated pH-triggered supramolecular hydrogels, and the rheological study of a chemically fuelled dissipating hydrogel system. Ian entered the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Sensing and Measurement (CDT-ISM) in late 2018, and is currently working jointly with the Adams Group and the Mount Group (University of Edinburgh). His research is currently focussed on controlling the self-assembly of supramolecular hydrogels at microelectrode surfaces, for the purpose of informing the development of enhanced biosensors with hydrogel layers that protect against sensor surface biofouling.
Courtenay Patterson
Courtenay graduated with a first class BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Glasgow in 2019 . In 2018, she joined the group as part of her undergraduate research project which looked at pH responsive hydrogelators, successfully constructing a reversible transient gel system. She then returned in October 2019 to begin her PhD. Her research currently focuses on the self-assembly of gelator molecules using electrochemical methods. Courtenay is funded by the University of Glasgow.
Valentina Gauci
Valentina graduated with a B.Sc (Hons) in Chemistry from the University of Malta in 2016. During this time, she did an Erasmus+ traineeship at the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, UK) with the work focusing on synthesis and characterization of gold nanoparticles for biosensors. For the undergraduate thesis, she worked with a crystallography group for her project on polymorph and co-crystal screening of an active pharmaceutical ingredient. In 2017, she started a Masters by Research in Chemistry programme at Mittuniversitetet (Sundsvall, Sweden) and worked with a Chemical Ecology group performing organic synthesis of sex pheromones of forest pests. Following completion in May 2019, she was employed by the same group as a Research Engineer to continue on the same project. From 2018 to 2019, she worked as a part-time Chemist with Organofuel Sweden. She joined the Adams group in October 2019 to start her PhD and works with synthesis of low molecular weight gelators.
Lisa Thomson
Lisa graduated with a first class BSc (Hons) from the University of Glasgow in 2018. During this time, she participated in a summer internship with a batteries company, the focus of which was to validate a new method that could be used to determine the burn rate of heat powder in a battery, and single cell testing. In 2017, she joined the group as part of her undergraduate research project which looked at using cavitation rheology to probe gels. She then returned in October 2018 to begin her PhD. Her research currently centres on comparing bulk rheology and cavitation rheology. Lisa is funded by the University of Glasgow.
Dan McDowall
Dan graduated with a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Loughborough in 2017. During this he worked on placement at The Lubrizol Corporation for a year, performing research into engine oil additives. Primarily he researched the stopped-flow chemistry of overbased detergents as well as the effectiveness of new dispersant additives on used engine oil. He then obtained an MRes in Chemistry at the University of Surrey, where he researched the colloidal and rheological properties of bitumen emulsions. He joined the Adams group in October 2018, where his research is focussed on the relationship between self-assembled structure and photocatalytic properties of low molecular weight gelators. His work is in collaboration with Dr Alex Cowan and his PhD student Ben Greeves at the University of Liverpool. The project is funded by the Leverhulme Trust.
Ana Mari Fuentes-Caparrós (2021 graduation)
Ana Mari graduated in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alicante in July 2015 with an EUR-ACE® certificate. In her last bachelor year, she spent three months working as an R & D for Deretil (pharmaceutical company that research, develop, manufacture and sell raw materials for beta-lactam antibiotics) in Spain. There she worked in the research obtaining extracts of natural origin in the agro-alimentary sector (Stevia). In October 2015 she coursed the Chemical Engineering Master in University of Granada (Spain) with a 6 months internship in the University of Liverpool where she worked in the synthesis of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) for stem cell tracking using MRI. In 2017 she joined the Adams group as a PhD student at the University of Glasgow. Her research is focused on the characterization of the fibril growth in self-assembled low molecular weight gelators. Ana is funded by the University of Glasgow.
Emily Cross (2020 graduation)
Emily graduated with an MChem in Chemistry from the University of Liverpool in 2016. During her degree she was a School of Chemistry representative for 3 years and, in the summer of 2015 worked as a R&D Chemist at Unilever. Here, she joined Dr Ian Tucker’s research group and explored the surface and solution properties of bio-surfactant mixtures. After Graduation, Emily secured a scholarship to work at the Australian institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in the University of Queensland. Here, she worked in Prof Andrew Whittaker/Idriss Blakey’s research groups developing nanostructured optical sensors. Emily joined the Adams group in 2014 while completing her 3rd/4th year degree research projects. She started her PhD in the group in 2016. Her research focused on understanding the relationship between the self-assembly process & final properties of multicomponent supramolecular hydrogels. She was funded by the University of Glasgow.
Craig Wilson (joint with Professor A. Cooper, 2019 graduation)
Ammar Alhamed (joint with Professor A. Cooper, 2019 graduation)
Michael Nolan (joint with Dr. A. Cowan, 2019 graduation)
Andre Zamith Cardoso (2018 graduation)
Edward Eden (joint with Professor A. Cooper, 2017 graduation)
Matthew Wallace (joint with Dr. J. Iggo, 2017 graduation)
Emily Draper (2016 graduation)
Anita Peacock (2016 graduation)
Salmah Awhida (2015 graduation)
Thanchanok Ratvijitvech (joint with Professor A. Cooper, 2015 graduation)
Jaclyn Raeburn (2014 graduation)
Andrea Laybourn (2013 graduation)
Dave Adams Lab 